Reynardine
}} :For the chapter of the same name, see Chapter 3: Reynardine. Reynardine (self-titled Reynardine the Great), also known as Renard or Rey, is a fox-spirit with the ability to possess others' bodies. He can possess any body with eyes, whether living or inanimate; allegedly he could even possess a potato. He is currently imprisoned within Antimony Carver's stuffed wolf doll after an apparent attempt to steal Annie's body, which was thwarted by Sir James Eglamore. He is now under her control, due to her ownership of the doll. Reynardine has his origins in Gillitie Wood, and is Coyote's cousin. As one of the most knowledgeable and skilled Wood inhabitants in matters of human interaction, he talked seemingly freely with both members of the Court and the Wood. Unfortunately, this knowledge led to his downfall as he found himself madly in love with Antimony's mother Surma. In order to woo Surma in person, Reynard requested the ability to possess bodies from Coyote, who immediately agreed - but to Renardine's distress, the ability was flawed. After leaving a body, the original user perished instead of regaining control. After much persuasion by Coyote, Reynardine followed through with his plans and stole a young man's body.Chapter 43, Page 11 This plan failed utterly, leading to Reynard's capture and imprisonment. Coyote has kept Reynardine's original body preserved in the forest, and once told Antimony to tell him it is there waiting for him. His forehead bears the alchemical symbol for antimony, which may represent Antimony Carver's ownership of him. Another interpretation is that the symbol represents the fact that he is of animal nature. ]] Possibly due to the inanimate nature of his current body, Reynardine is capable of manipulating his body to a variety of forms. Initially, this was demonstrated by giving the plush he possessed more anthropomorphic proportions and features, and later by taking on the appearance of a white wolf. To a lesser degree, Reynard has demonstrated this ability by lacing and unlacing the stitching of his arm in order to utilize a set of lockpicks stored there, and on one occasion, took on a larger, highly muscled version of his plush form in an attempt to fluster Annie (which failed). His behaviour in large wolf form tends to be rather more mature than when in small wolf form, and tends to demonstrate greater diplomacy, levelheadedness, and mental acuity. Perhaps for this reason, in times of danger or stress, Renard typically shifts to his wolf form. Although Reynard is currently possessing a wolf doll and he can transform it into a large and intimidating wolf form , he remains a fox in nature. This is demonstrated by his appearance in the ether as well his response when Annie asked if he could howl. , "Fox Call". (Also, this strip and Tom's comment both conveniently and succinctly answers the question "What does the fox say?") There, he also demonstrated pride in his fox nature, claiming a fox's call to be the finest in nature. (Although, judging by her reaction, Annie disagrees.) Demonology There are several rules laid down by Tom about who Reynardine can possess and when. It is possibly the most asked-about topic on the Gunnerkrigg Court Message Board, much to Tom's bewilderment. *The body Reynardine snatches must have eyes of some sort, and they must be open when he possesses it. It doesn't have to be alive; it doesn't even have to be organic. For example, he could possess a painting of someone, as long as that person's eyes were open. and Ysengrin.]] *If Reynardine possesses an object owned by another person, that person assumes complete control over Reynardine. This control lasts until the controller dies, though Reynardine cannot harm him or her. The controller can also disclaim ownership of Reynardine, in which case he would be freed. *If the controller gives ownership of the object Reynardine is inhabiting to another person, the recipient gains control over Reynardine. *While Reynardine is controlled by someone, he cannot "jump" to another body unless commanded to. If commanded, this would break the control contract, unless the person owns the second object as well. *When Reynardine leaves a living body, the body dies. *If dwelling in an inanimate object, Reynardine can change into a form that's different but related to the object's original appearance at will, such as his large wolf form. *Reynardine cannot possess Coyote against his will. This may also be true of other gods. For more information, see Annie's Contract of Ownership Over Reynardine and Renardine's Body-Stealing and Shapeshifting Powers. Possessing Annie Tom has deliberately and explicitly left it an open question whether Reynardine was attempting to possess Annie or whether the doll was his true target. True to this spirit there are several strong arguments on either side. PRO: * Reynardine says explicitly, "I do need your help. In fact, what I need is... YOUR BODY!" just before he leaves Sivo's body and moves toward Annie. * Also he yells, "NO!" and "Argh! Damn it!" in apparent frustration when thwarted by Eglamore. * He has taken over a human before with no known remorse. * He was obviously in a certain amount of pain being bound and is perhaps half-mad with imprisonment. * Saving Sivo may have involved Reynardine's death and Reynardine would have no doubts that the court would gladly make that trade. * All the experienced adults who know him have no problems believing that he would do such a thing. * Reynardine blames Annie for Surma's death (it's obvious that he knows that this was an inevitable consequence of Annie's birth). * Reynardine seems to have tried to take Annie when they first met on the rooftop just before Annie fainted, judging by his glowing eyes. If his intent were to take the toy, he could have done it then quite easily. * He claims to regret the day he nearly possessed Annie. * He admits that he was going to kill her, not only to escape, but for her powers. CON: * Reynardine was (is) deeply in love with Surma and mourns her death. Presumably some of this feeling would attach to Surma's daughter. Recall that Annie resembles Surma so much (perhaps in an etheric sense) that both Reynardine and Coyote mistake her for her mother. * In a broader sense, he loves humans in general (according to Coyote). Tom has confirmed that Reynard regrets his murders 'every minute of the day'. * He's very clever and understands humans well. Surely in a few years time he could have engineered some sort of escape. Even better, he could break the ownership bonds between Annie and himself and be a free agent in a conveniently shapeshifting body. * He knows for certain he was under observation while imprisoned (it only takes a few moments for Eglamore to come back). Taking over the doll without some sort of ruse would have been obvious. Remember that he specifically mentions the toy during his first escape attempt. * Reynard seems genuinely fond of Annie from very early on.. Going from a position where he would willingly sacrifice her to a mentor/friend is huge leap. Origin Reynardine (Renard) likely comes from the medieval trickster figure "Reynard the Fox" (or various spellings). Reynard the Fox is first seen in a mock epic entitled Ysengrimus by the poet NivardusWikipedia: Reynard. Symbols When Reynardine possesses Annie's toy, the mark on his astral form resembles one of the alchemy symbols for mercury, a Three Primes. The element was an interest to alchemists due to its liquid state and its ability to easily infuse with other metals and form hardened amalgams, and they believed mercury transcended both solid and liquid states, heaven and earth, life and death. While in the toy wolf body, his forehead bears the symbol for Antimony, representing Annie's ownership of him. The symbol is mostly shown when he is in his larger (more realistic) wolf form. Antimony also represents humankind's animal nature and was also symbolized by the wolf. Recently, Reynardine's mark has started to look more like the symbol for Pluto, which is read in alchemy as spirit over mind, transcending matter, and Threat from the Unconscious. References Category:Named Characters Category:Non-Human Characters Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Etheric beings